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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



013 701 403 8 



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Wot _. (. - ^i ■ - ■ J n oni as. 

ABSTRACT OF EVIDENCE AND FACTS 



DEVELOPED BV 



Worthington'' s court-martial, at Memphis, Tennessee, August, 
1862, of lohich no other official evidence could otherwise be ob- 
tained; and, the only official evidence ofjhe causes tvhich led di- 
rectly to the slaughter and disgrace at/ Shiloh, April 6th, 1862 ; 
shotving, also, the efforts of Colonel vVorthington, 4,6th Ohio, to 
avert the disaster, and hoio its most terrible ami seemingly inev- 
itable residts tvere, by the troops tender his command on the ex- 
treme Union right Jiank, almost miraculously averted, April 6th, 
1862. j 



1st. Extract f lom a letter of General W. T. Sherman, 5th Division, Army 
of the Tennessee : 

Moscow, July 16th, 1862. 
Colonel Worthington, Coni'g, La Fayette: 

We are ordered to move. My division will come to-morrow, or the day 
after, to La Fayette, where you will be prepared to join your brij>;ade, with 
all your men and means of transportation. Be prepared to destroy your 
works then, and anything that would be of service to the enemy, who may 
come in. We are to operate further South. 

If Colonel McDowell be at or near La Fayette, please Inform him of this 
fact, &c. I want to spare his troops the march, &c. 

[Signed,] W. T. SHERMAN, 

Major-General. 

2d. On the first charge of drunkenness on duty as commanding ofHcer 
at La Fayette, Tennessee, General W. T. Sherman, the officer calling the 
coiut, and also the prosecutor and chief witness, being sworn, testified : 
That Colonel Worthington commanded 46th Ohio, in Colonel McDow- 
ell's Brigade, 5th Division. On July ISth, 1862, he commanded a redoubt, 
built by himself and his command, at La Fayette, with orders to pi'otect the 
j-oad and bridges. 

About 10 A. M. of that day I readied the station, and saw Colonel Worth- 
ington in a state of disgraceful drunkenness, &c. Major Hammond, A. A. 
G., and Captain Dayton and Major Sanger testified to the same effect — 
Major Sanger swearing that he came into the Fort about II A. M. and af- 
tei-wards saw him, several times, loudly cursing and swearing at teamsters, 
sutlers, &c. 

3d. Three teamsters testified that they saw no indication of intoxication 
in tlie Colonel's manner. His orderly testified that he was not intoxicated, 
but got on his horse as usual ; and the sutler and teamsters testified that 
they did not hear the loud and indecent cursing and swearing charged by 
Major Sanger. 

Two testified that they saw him at halt of the troops, which was half a 
mile fi-om the Fort, at 11 A. M.; proving it unlikely that Major Sanger saw 
Colonel W. in the Fort at all. 

4th. The evidence of Major Hammond, Lieutenant-Colonel Corse, 6rh 
Iowa, etc., proved that the brigade evacuated the post, and Colonel W.'s 
regiment— 46th Ohio— left the Fort two hours before the time of the 









2 



oftense cliarged bj' Genenil Sherman, who was therefore himself in com- 
mand at the time charo-ed ; and Lieutenant-Colonel Corse testified that 
when he left with the brigade, between 8 and 9 A. M., Colonel W. was 
sober, in his opinion. 

5tli. Colonel ]McDowell, commanding the brigade, testified to his being 
in command of the post on the 17th and ISth, and was in command till 
General yherman's arrival — about 8 A. M., on the IStii Julj^ 1862. All of 
which proves that Colonel W, could not have been guilty of the ofiense 
cliarged. 

6th. The second charge of habitual drunkenness was negatived by the 
court. 

7th, To the third charge, of conduct unbecoming an ofiicer and a gentle- 
man, in printing, or causing to be printed, on a siieet for circulation, what 
purported to be extracts from his diary of the Tennessee expedition, con- 
taining false and libellous matter calculated and designed to injure his 
superior ofiicers — Colonel McDowell and Generals Grant and Slierniau. 

Which said diary was not made contemporaneous with tlie dates set forth 
in it, but was fabi'ieated or manufactured after the occasion to fulfill some 
base and dishonorable purpose. To tliis char^'e General Slierman certified 
that Captain Giesy, 46tli Ohio, liad left at his quarters about tlie 10th of 
August, 1862, a printed siieet, headed "Private and Confidential," contain- 
ing matter false and libellous. To prove whicii, he made oatli, among 
many other statements, — 

8th. That Colonel W. repeatedly warned his brigade and division com- 
manders of impending danger — urging the fortification of the position a 
week befoie tlie attack. 

9th. That there was reason to expect an attack on the 3d of April, 1862, 
while charging that Colonel W.'s diary entry of tlie 3d to the same oft'ect 
was '"''false and libellous.''^ 

lOtli. After swearing that there was reason to expect an attack on the 
3d, with no enemy witiiin six miles of his front, he testifies that no one — ■ 
not even Colonel W.^ — could expect an attack on Frida\^, the 4tli, witii the 
infantry, cavaliy, and artillery of the enenij' less than three miles from iiis 
front, and when their drum-beat was heard at the outposts of tiie camp. 

lltli. He swears that no stronger position was ever held by an army, 
because defended bj'^ Owl and Lick Creeks, which were proven an3'vvhere 
foi'dable before and on tlie day of the battle. 

12tii. He testified that Buell's troops liad been rightfully expected for 
two weeks, wiiile knowing tliat when at Duck River, ninet}' miles oft", 
Buell's division commanders had been notified not to reach Savannah, 
eight miles on the river below Pittsburgh, till the 7th ; and knowing, also, 
that on tlie morning ^ffthe 4th of April General Nelson, with the advance, 
was notified tiiat he ne«*-nct be up till the 8lh ; and knowing, as lie testifies, 
that there was reason to expect an attack on the 3d, wliich, according to 
General Johnson's original intention, siioiild have occurred on the 1st or 
2d of April, 1862. 

13tli. He swears that Colonel W.'s diary entry, that he covered too much 
ground, is false ; wliicli evidence he upsetsb.y other evidence, tliat the gap 
on his left, of about a mile, was intended for an army of 40.000 men, re- 
quiring a single line of eight miles, without artillery; which monstrous 
fiction he smothers by the extinguisher that Buell was to have been sent 
to Hamburgh, on the rivei", four miles above ; and thus proving that there 
was a gap, which left open the ''key point," as he calls it, of his position, 
whicli gap, on an official map, corrected and, of course, approved b}' Gen- 
erals Grant and Sherman, (saj^s Badeau,) is closed by the left flank of 
McClernand on Badeau's map. To crown this '•'•tragedy of errors^'''' as it 
proved to be. this left flank of McClernand, on the official map, also ap- 
proved by Grant and Siierman, is in longitude half a mile west of the 
center of the gap in question. Q. E. D. 
" 14th. Repeating his evidence as to the sti'pr..:;th of the position, — equal to or 



above any in 'lie world, — lie swears that the flanks were well protected, &c., 
knowing that the creeks on front and flank proved to be the merest wagou- 
ruts in the way of the attack; that by means of the gap, which Buell was 
and was not to have fllled, three divisions of the Union army had been 
tnrned at the moment of attack ; that his own., the otli, and that of Prentiss, 
the Gth, had been driven back or dispersed from ten to ninety minutes after 
the attack, as was liis 2d Brigade on the extreme left, and that the same, 
but for the 46th Ohio, would have occurred, as by him intended, on the 
extreme right, where he should have been, but, fortunately or unfortu- 
nately, was not, when that flank was first threatened, about 11 A. M., and 
at that hour deserted by his aids and the brigade coumiander, doubtless 
by his order, when the 9 A. M. retreat of tlie 1st Brigade began, as also 
did his lonely flight to the rear of McClernand's right. 

loth. Knowing, four months after the battle, that the Confederates had 
but little over 41,000 men, he swears that 43,000 Union troops stood their 
ground agah)st 60,000 chosen troops of the South; wliile it liad been provea 
b_v all reports of tiie battle, his own and G-eneral Grant's inclusive, that, 
witii the exception of two or, perhaps, tliree regiments of McClernand's 
division, comprising not over 800 men in line of battle, the wliole army 
had been dispersed, and himself, with a few hundred fugitives, driven half 
a mile north of the Landing, which, liaving given up as lost, he made no 
effort to defend, wliile charging Buell as a laggard, who then and there 
prevented its capture and iiis own, and towards which the Confederates 
had advanced within musket-shot, or two or three hundred yards, when 
repelled by General Ammeu's brigade of ISTelson's division, wiio, with Gen- 
eral Buell, according to General Grant, directed the attack against the last 
charge of the Confederates, about 5 p. M., April 6, 1862. 

16th. Wliile swearing against the probability of an attack on Friday, the 
4th, he had, with displeasure, admitted to Colonel Buckland that by the 
capture of a dozen prisoners he might have induced an attack before he 
was ready for it, thus proving his conviction that the Confederates had 
force suflicient in his front to warrant an attack that day, advised as he 
was, by Major Ricker, oth Oiiio Cavalry, that he had that afternoon en- 
countered Beauregard's advance, and warned during the niglit by the 
wounded and dying Confederates that he would be attacked next day. 

17tli. Wliile thus swearing against any probability of an attack, he tes- 
tifies that he knew he had the elements of an enemy's army in his front, 
but did not know its strength, destination, or purpose ; thus proving that 
military history has never before produced so great a commander, so en- 
tirely innocent of that knowledge which the most stolid private in his armj'- 
shoifld have possessed, and did possess ; for he proceeds to testif}'^ — 

ISth. That not a man in the camp but knew we had an enemy to the 
front before we slept that night, while his admitted stolidity is more or less 
relieved by an assurance (truthless as the rest of his evidence) that the guard 
was strengthened, &c. 

19th. So far is this strengthening of the guard opposite to the fact, that 
Colonel Taylor's 5th Cavalry scouts were withdrawn that very evening, 
and not a hoi'seman was sent to his front before the attack, some 36 hours 
thereafter, to the loss of 13,000 Union troops, not a score of whom need 
have been lost, if Buell's troops, on their arrival, before noon of the 5th, 
had been sent up to Hamburgh as intended. 

20th. He swears that no general could have sooner detected or reported 
the approach of an enemy, thus appropriating the merit of the small-arms, 
drums, and artillery of the enemy, detecting and reporting at the same 
instant the Confederates to be at hand. 

21st. It was proven on Colonel W.'s trial, by brigade commanders Buck- 
land and Hildebrand, and by the picket oflicers of the 46th Ohio, that the 
pickets of three brigades were driven in on Saturday, the 5th, at and after 
7 A. M., and the same reported to him, which he on oiith repeatedly denies, 
swearing persistently that no pickets were driven in on the 5tli. 



22(1. It was proven that a picket post, three-quarters of a mile, l\v his 
own evidence, in front of Bnckland's center, was occupied by the Confed- 
erate artillery Satiu'day afternoon, and the fact to him reported, which, 
against hundreds of witnesses, he three times on oath denies, swearing 
that Colonel W. could not possibly have heard anything of the kind. 

He testifies that he has given an account of his operations from the 2d to 
the 7th of April, while not a word is said as to tlie occurrences of Saturdaj'. 
Sunday, or Monday, except a denial of the driving in of tiie pickets on 
Saturda3% and a crossing and recrossing of troops past the Howell house, 
to which he called no evidence against that of picket-officer Sharpe, who 
testified, without question, that the Howell house was all day occupied by 
the enemy's pickets. 

23(1. As regards the Colonel of the 46th Ohio, the record proves, on Gen- 
eral Sherman's and other evidence, that he never neglected anj'- duty 
whatever; that he visited his pickets, as could have been proven, night arrd 
day after tiie 3d of April ; that he kept two comijanies nightly on their 
arms after that date; that he jiracticed his troops in the manual of arms, 
and especially loading and firing, for two weeks iiefore the battle ; that he 
regularly visited his hospital in camp and on the march. 

Diary extracts pronounced false on oath by Gen. W. T. Sherman., and proven 
true on his own evidence. 

Monda}% March 31st, 18G2. — Sherman is inviting an attack, for which we 
are unprepai-ed. 

To which he answers. : 

What business was it of his whether his superior officer invited an attack 
or not? I was perfect!}^ willing that we should be attacked, and tiiink tliat 
Beauregard made a fatal mistalce when he did it; but I denj' (third time) 
that the enemy had a battery near the Howell house that Saturday after- 
noon. 

Monday, April 3(1, 18G2. — Rode to Pittsburgh Landing. The place is 
crowded and in disorder below, with noise and gambling on the i>ank 
above. 

The indications are still of an attack, which I have intimated to McDowell. 
Tlie troops cover too much ground, and cannot support each other. To 
which he replies, on oath: I knew there was no hostile force within six 
miles, though there was reason to expect an attack. 

We did not cover too much ground. Buell's troops had rightfully been 
expected for two we(!ks, and a place was left for his forces; although Gen- 
eral Grant afterwards determined to send Buell to Ilambui'gh (four miles 
above). 

The gravamen of Sherman's charge was that the diary had been written 
'•"after the occasion.,^'' to secure to the writer a popular reputation for 
prophes}^ and foresight. In regard to this he testifies : I suppose that 
Colonel McDowell, like myself, had become tired of his prognostications ; 
and, also. Colonel Worthington might have tiiought an attack imminent, 
because for weeks he was predicting the w(3rst, and hoping it might happen. 
This charge of predicting the worst, &c., is upset by Colonel McDowell, 
who testifies as follows, on question by Colonel W. : 

"I do not know that I ever lieard you predict any actual disaster ; on 
Monday or Tuesday before the battle you insisted that we would be at- 
tacked, and complained of the want of tools," — which upsets the charge of 
making the entries after the battle. To the diary entry that a slight 
"'• ahattis'''' might prevent or avert an attack, Sherman replies : "To iiave 
erected fortifications would have been evidence of weakness, and would 
have invited an attack," and, therefore, the infei-ence is fair, there were no 
intrenching tools provided bj^ him, as was the case. Is it any wonder that 
every operation in the field under the immediate direction of this com- 
mander was a, blunder, a failure, or a disaster, tin'oughout the war, from 
Bull liuu to Diniiain Station? 



PART II. 



Hon. A. F. Perry'' s Opinion, 

There is nothing in the printing or circulating sucli a diary, under the 
circumstances, on which to found any such charge as '•'•conduct unbecom- 
ing an officer and a gentleman " in the Army Regulations ; and in i-egard to 
the same, the Hon. A. F. Perry, of Cincinnati, Ohio, late member of Con- 
gress, expresses the professional opinion, with great regard for General 
Shei'man, that "It was no fault to keep a diary, and note,in it tlie faults of 
his superiors, if he believed tiie truth and tiie public service required them 
to be iujiu'ed. Th(; existence of the printed sheet is the only evidence of a 
design to circulate it, and it does not appear to me such proof as should 
take away the character of an officer and a gentleman." 

Witii regard to the charge of being drunk upon duty, he expresses the 
opinion tliat General Siierman testified under feelings of uncontrolled 
resentment. With reference to the specification of being found in a state 
of disgraceful drunkenness, he asks : ''Why discolor the record with such 
indications of personal revenge ? But this feeling does not rest satisfied yet. 
Botli specifications cliarge tliat he exhibited himself in that condition. He 
obtruded or exhibited himself. Now, if there is no foundation, absolutely 
none, for these cliarges, by way of exaggeration — that is to say, for these in- 
tensifj'ing allegations — tiie fact tliat they were used shows the '•animus'' in 
which these charges were made, and this ^animus'' will also show the 
influence which must have been brought to bear, consciously or uncon- 
sciously, on the court during the trial. 

"First, as to exhibiting himself. Wlien General Sherman and his staff 
arrived, they found Colonel W. somewliat under the influence of liquor, 
but engaged in the performance of his proper duties. He exhibited him- 
self in the sense only of not hiding from them. He knew what was to be 
done, and did it. He mounted his horse without help, and rode with his 
regiment, neglecting nothing, and misdoing nothing, on the march. One 
or more of the witnesses tell us that his ordinary manner is unquiet and 
peculiar, and might suggest to those not intimately acquainted with him 
the idea of excitement from liquor, when entirely free from it. 

"Why, then, charge an officer, when just ready to march from a fort 
under orders, and in the presence of several superiors who ranked him, 
with being drunk in command of the fort, wiiich is shown by the evidence 
of Major Hannnond, and others, to have been evacuated by his regiment 
several hours before the time charged? Why charge him, when able to 
mount his horse and command his regiment, with being not merelj'^ drunk, 
but disgracefully drunk? It is true that this precise adjective is sworn to 
by General Sherman and portions of his staff, but that does not help the mat- 
ter — no, it is a mistake, an exaggeration. Feelings of resentment for 
injuries, real or imagined, found their way into the charges and the testi- 
mony. Dropping off all these intensifying words, for which no justiflca- 
tion is found in the facts, it will appear that on several occasions Colonel 
Worthington drank so much liquor as to affect his conduct and appearance, 
but it does not appear that this happened on any occasion w^hen duties or 
responsibility were upon him. All I am intending to express, in the 
presence of such intensifying words, is to find out the true meaning; and 
I state it as my opinion that the language of the specification is not justi- 
fied by the evidence." 



6 

Extract from Hon. Chas. Mason'' s opinion on Worthington'' s court-martial 
record^ addressed to the Hon. H. B. Banning^ Chairman of the Militarxj 
Committee^ House of Representatives: 

As an old West Point school-mate of Colonel Worthington, I have, 
witliout any expectation of pecuniary compensation, sometimes under- 
taken to act as his adviser. 

In that capacity. I have been at no little pains to arrive at a correct con- 
clusion as to the value of his military services, as w^ell as to the injustice of 
which he complains. * * * 

At the battle of Shiloh, in particular, I unhesitatingly believe that but for 
the extraordinary and unexpected stand made by him t\\v. victory tliere and 
then achieved would have i-esulted in an overwhelming defeat. 

By tlie most daring pertinacity, he maintained his position on the right 
wing of the Union army, wliere lie then lield the chief command, and kept 
the Confederate forces in check for some two hours at a critical period, and 
thus allowed tlie forces of General Buell to retrieve the fortunes of the day, 
which were otherwise lost beyond hope. Tiiis opinion, long since formed 
from other sources, is corroborated by a recent letter of General Beaure- 
gard, who held the chief command of the hostile ai-my after the fall of 
General Johnson. And if it be true, it will be difficult to overestimate the 
full value of his services on that important occasion. I have just as little 
doubt that the greatest injustice has been done him by the court-martial 
held in August, 1802, by which he was found guilty upon baseless charges, 
and sentenced to dismissal from the service. Tiiat sentence, it is true, was 
disapproved, for the very sufficient reason, tiiat tiie court by which it was 
rendered was illegally organized ; but, still, it was virtual])- cari'ied into 
effect by his arbitrar)^ dismissal from office, and by a persistent deter- 
mination not to restore him. 

'J'he objection to the organization and action of that court Avas not tecii- 
nical, but substantial, and its decision was not entitled to the least weight, 
either legally or morall3\ 

In regard to the ciiarge of disgraceful drunkenness on duty, I find the 
subject so ably discussecl in a review of the record said to have been made 
by tile Hon. A. F. Perry, that I shall not weaken the force of liis criticisms 
by attempting to traverse tlie same grounds, and will merely say tiiat [ 
fully concur with him in both his arguments and conclusions. 

Under the cliarge of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, the 
only ground to seciu-e a conviction seems to have been certain extracts from 
a diar.v kept by the accused about the date of the battle of Siiiloh, or just 
pi'evious. 

Notliiiig in the evidence would justif)"^ the conclusion that he had been 
actuated by any malicious or ignoble motive; nothing more than a desin; 
to evince his own sagacit}' or iiis own superior vigilance. And the result 
fuUj^ shows that none of the providence and forethouglit evinced by him 
was superfluous. 

Perhaps, by a somewhat violent straining of language, the conduct of 
Colonel Worthingtoii in this respect may iiave been regarded as unbecom- 
ing an officer; but with wiiat propriety can it be said to have been unbe- 
coming a gentleman? The facts do not sustain tlie charge. 

This is a stigma that has been attached to his name by the verdict of a 
court-martial illegally constituted, and conducted under influences which 
were wholly inimical to the ascertainment of truth. 

It may not j^et be too late to rescue from abject penury this victim of in- 
veterate injustice and oppn^ssion, and to make some aclequate compensa- 
tion for the most meritorious and valuable services at a critical period of 
our militarjr llistorJ^ 

(Signed) Chas. Mason. 

" As a further evidence against the veracity of the prosecutor — the baseness 



and baselessness of the charges, to say nothing of the pliability of the 
court — it may be liere for the lirst time recorded that the ''victim of this 
injustice" was in New York in February, 1863, to obtain the approval of 
an account by General McClellan. He there met General Scott, Colonel 
Monroe, a West Point graduate of 1815, Gen. Kobt. Anderson, of Fort 
Sumter, who had all known him 30 or 40 years, and with them General 
Swift, the first and oldest West Point graduate, aged 80 years at that time. 
He had with him the record of his trial, and Hon. A. F. Perry's opinion 
thereon, both of which documents Avei'e scrutinized by these old and dis- 
tinguished officers. General Anderson and Colonel Monroe, both Soutlierii 
men, liad correspondents in both armies, and had letters equivalent to tliat 
of General Beauregard's, herewith submitted; and, on consultation, after 
the Colonel iiad left for Washington, agreed upon the letters, as follows, 
inclosing the last to the Secretary of War : 

General Stviffs Letters. 

New York, February 26, 1863. 

Colonel WoKTHiNGTON,— Dear Sir : I have conversed with General 
Robert Anderson and Colonel James Monroe on your subject, and also 
with Genei-al Scott; and am fully satisfied that the Government would find 
material benefit in ottering you employment in the United States Army, 
and that a good mode of satisfying the Secretary of War would be by his 
instituting an inquiry by a board of officers as to your merits, and also as 
to the legality of the proceedings of the court-martial in yoiu- case. 

That you were educated at West Point is an earnest of yoin- having there 
acquired essential information, and that your military conduct evinces that 
fact. In these days of seeming dearth of generalship in our army, it be- 
hooves the Government to seek the genth'inen wlio do possess tiie ability 
to conduct our good soldiers to victory; and I lieartily wisli you may find 
the employment you seek, not from personal motives on your part, but 
from devotion to our Union. 

I am, &c., &c., 

(Signed) J. G. Swift. 

General Swift, formerly of the United States Army, presents his compli- 
ments to the Hon. Mr. Stanton. 

General Swift having accidentally become acquainted with facts that 
relate to the character and military ability of Colonel Thomas Worthington, 
late a general officer of Ohio militia, is of opinion that the Colonel possesses 
qualities amply fitting him for the functions of a general officer. 

In these days, when such ability is not readily found. General Swift sug- 
gests respectfully to Mr. Stanton the institution of such inquiry as may 
satisfy Mr. Stanton as to the actual merits of Colonel Wortliington. 

City of New York, February 26, 1863. 

These letters should certainly have some weight, even had the trial 
occurred before a legal court of officers, independent of their Division 
General, and on charges having some color of truth, and supported by 
evidence not utterly irrelevant and contradictory. 

The manner of executing the sentence was just as reckless, illegal, and 
unjust as the matter of the charges, evidence, and the constitution of the 
court, if such it could be denominated with any propriety whatever. 

This is proven by the facts. 

1st. That the sentence was first executed by the prosecutor, Sherman, 
September 16, 1862, before the approval of General Grant, commanding 
the district, had been obtained, or the record had been submitted to the 
Judge-Advocate-General. 

It was next executed by General Grant, October 1st, without any 
seeming knowledge of its previous execution by Sherman. Tlie Judge- 



Advocate-Greueral at once decided the court without color of authorit}', 
and its findings and proceedings a nullity. 

Keeognizlng, nevertheless, the plainl}'-false charges, not even sustained 
by still more truthless and contradictor}^ evidence, he recommended Colonel 
"Worthington's dismissal on these flimsy mendacities, under a law of July 
17, 1862, so that the Colonel of the 46th Ohio may indulge the distinction 
and gratification of having been the most frequently and imperfectly dis- 
missed officer in the volunteer service. 

Assistant Adjutant-General Buckingham, then in tlie War Office, from 
Ohio, becoming aware of these covert proceedings, he, by a word or two 
to Secretary Stanton, had the matter indefinitely suspended. 

Meantime Colonel Worthington knew nothing of tins attempted fraud 
till tlie winter of '63-'64, when, in looking up the matter, by an ord<!r 
from tlie Secretary of War, the papers in the case, supposed b}^ Judge 
Holt to have been lost, were delivered to him by the late General Canby, 
and by him (Worthington) retained against the not very earnest remon- 
strance of an Assistant Adjutant-General now no more. 

After failure of his dismissal by the illegal court, this covert attempt was 
doubtless the work of those men and their instruments who had been 
rescued from merited disgrace and degradation in the army by his service 
at Shiloh, inuring to their benefit alone, and to his injury. 

Meantime President Lincoln had not only been kept iu ignorance of that 
service, (excluded as it was from the official reports, or imputed to Gen. 
Sherman,) but, to the Colonel's prejudice, he had been represented to him 
(Mr. Lincoln) as a drunken, worthless officer, clearly falling under the law 
of July 17, 1862, as encumbering the service. 

The following episode, however ludicrous, may with propriety for the fii'st 
time have a written record': Still striving for active service, after many 
repulses, he only obtained an interview with the President by going in 
with the usual crowd March 31, 1864, as a matter of necessity. On intro- 
ducing himself as late colonel of the 46th Ohio, Mi'. Lincoln (with as 
seemingly severe an expression as he could assume, comical as it was.) 
replied that he had heard of Col. W. frequently as striving for a private 
interview during the past winter. 

After a very sliort conversation as to his unjust treatment, of which the 
President seemed to know little or nothing, on mention of Gen. Halleck 
declining to interfere in the matter, Mr. Lincoln took occasion to express 
the highest opinion of Halleck's moral integrity and military ability, to 
which, as he evidently saw Col. W. was about to demur, he abruptly ex- 
claimed : " You don't look like you was fit to be a colonel." Suppressing a 
laugh, the Colonel took two steps np to his table, to his evident aston- 
ishment, and said as blandly as possible: Do please, Mr. Lincoln, oblige 
Tlie so exceedingly as to put that opinion into writing. '• Wh — what — 
what — in — the — world — do you want it in writing foi-?" to which tiie 
Colonel could only reply : I am considered, Mr. Lincoln, to be a man of 
average veracitj% but with all their regard, and ray entire respect for you, 

by , should I tell this, no man in the Army of the Tennessee would 

believe me without your written statement. 

Upon this, with somewhat of a grim smile, and without hesitation, he 
wrote as follows, to the exceeding credit of his candor : 

"Executive Mansion, Wasjhington, March 31, 1864. 
" To-day I verbally told Col. Worthington that I did not think him fit 
for a colonel, and now, upon his urgent request, I put it in writing. 

"A. Lincoln." 

"I certify the foregoing to be a true copy of the original in my posses- 
sion. 

"(Signed,) Thomas Ewinq. 

"April 30, 1872." 



9 

The Lincoln joke in this case proved to be worth $25, paid for the auto- 
graph by Gen. Ewing, when badly wanted, to assist in the publication by 
Col. W. of '■'■tShiloJi or the Tennessee Expedition of 1862," containing in 
great part the record comprised in this compendium as to Col. W.'s court- 
martial, &c. 

To show the value of the opinion impressed upon Mr. Lincoln as to Col. 
W., Gen. Beauregard's letter may as well here be appended. 

New Orleans, January 29, 1878. 

Dear Sir : Your favor of the 22d inst, lias just been received, &c. 

I willingly state that the stubborn defense of a position on the extreme 
right of the Federal line delayed our advance sufficient to prevent an earlier 
rout of the Federal Army than occurred on April 6, 1862, thus giving time 
to part of Buell's reinforcements to arrive on the field, at Pittsburgh Land- 
ing, just previous to the attack (about 5 p. M.) of the Confederates on tliat 
last stronghold of the Federals. 

I infer from official Federal reports,* to which I have been lately refer- 
x'cd, that the position on the extreme riglit, above alluded to, was held by 
the 46th Ohio, Col. Thomas Worthington. [And the 6th Iowa, Lt. Col. 
Cummings, on his left. T. W.] 

Should I be in Washington at the period stated by you, I will be glad to 
make your acquaintance and confer with you further relative to the bloody 
battles of Shiloh. 

I remain, yours very respectfully, 

G. T. Beauregard. 

Col. Thomas "Worthington, Morrow, Warren Co., Ohio. 

*Keportsof Gen. W. T. Sherman, 5th Division, and Col. J. C. McDowell, 
1st Brigade. Lithographed for the 6th Iowa and 46th Ohio volunteers. 



PART III. 



Evidence Excluded by the Court. 

The court, under General Sherman's direction, having excluded all testi- 
monj^ of what occurred during the battle, it may be proper to state here, 
very briefly, what would have been proven had not the testimony been ex- 
cluded — and can now be proven, if required : 

1st, That the attack commenced at or before 7, instead of 8, A. M., as 
stated by General Sherman. 

2d. That General Sherman, as stated in his Division report, was just in 
front of his extreme left-center regiment (53d Ohio) when his orderly was 
killed b}^ the first tire of the enemy's advance — when he deserted the left 
flank, galloped ofl' to his quarters, and was not seen in rear of tlie Union 
line till at least lialf an hour after the attack commenced, at Shiloh Church, 
on the 77th Ohio Kegiment. In a letter to Lieutenant-Governor Ben. 
Stanton, of Olno, dated June, 1862, lie states that he had passed along the 
front of the i53d Ohio and five hundred yards to its left when first fired on, 
when liis orderly (Holliday) was killed — about 7 P. M. 

In his Memoirs, while approving and repeating the statements of his 
Division report, he saj's that he was four hundred yards in front of tlie 53d 
Ohio when first tired on, wliich last statement wonld have placed him three 
hundred yards within tlie hostile line. Which of the three statements is 
correct ? 

3d. It would have been proven, besides what he admits of throwing the 
Morton Battery into the liands of the enemy, that the battery was retreat- 
ing along a narrow road in thick woods and undergrowth, where a two- 
horse wagon could scarce turn without backing. That the enemj^, in 
victorious pursuit, were witliin gun-shot, as proven bj' tlie death of Captain 
Behr, while the troops of botli center brigades had dispersed, or had fled or 
were flying in disorder past tlie batteiy. And therefore none but a mad- 
man, unless he intended the loss of the battery, would have attempted to 
bring it into action ; notwithstanding which the plain inference from his 
report is that in retreating with the caissons, as was their duty, the gun- 
ners, &c., behaved in a cowardly manner. 

4th. By his own report, without any assigned reason for conduct unex- 
ampled as reprehensible in a division commander, he abandoned his only 
organized troops at 9 or 10 A. M., to his aids, when to march in command 
of these troops was an imperative duty, knowing, as he ilid, that on the pro- 
posed march of about a mile to join on McCiernand's rapidlj'-vanishing 
right, they would inevitably be attacked, and without a commander be 
dispersed or captured, which it must be inferred was his intention, until 
some explanation is given for such a desertion of his command. 

5th. The retreat was ordered about or a little after 9 A, M., and a few 
minutes later the 6tli Iowa on the right was transferred to the left of the 
brigade, leaving Colonel Worthington, the jiniior colonel in rank, on the 
extreme right of the 1st Brigade, 5th Division, of the Union line ; and 
this without any explanation, caution, or orders whatever, though thus sud- 
denly placed in the post of most responsibility and danger, at what is 
stated by Badeau as the key-point to the Pittsburgh Landing. 

Gtli. This march, which could and should have been completed in half an 
hour, fortunately or unfortunately occupied two hours before the right of the 
brigade, marching by the left flank in a northerly direction, came opposite 
the flanks of the contending armies about 11 A. M. Here, after half an 



12 

hour's delaj'-, to be accounted for only on an intent to have the brigade cap- 
tured or dispersed, the 40th Illinois, in the center, was detached, leaving 
the 46th Ohio apparently deserted, without guides or scouts, or skirmishers, 
on front or flank, but with orders merely to march forward to the battle- 
field, half a mile in front, and steadily receding towards the Landing. 

With tlie 40th Illinois went the Division (ienei'al's Aides, to wliom the 
brigade had been by liim turned over, and also the Brigade Commander 
and staff, whose desertion can only be accounted for by the knowledge 
that tiie large Confederate force was approaching the right of tlie 46th, not 
over four hundred yards off, by which it was threatened just after crossing 
a small stream into open woods, with a downward slope to its front and 
right. 

The Colonel was first apprised of the danger by Captain Heath, Com- 
pany A, who directed his attention to a hostile force just over a small 
ravine, about sixty yards to his right, dropping into line on their riglit at 
a kneel and a ready. 

To retreat or fight was an instant necessity, with no time for considera- 
tion, except that to retreat was to permit the Union riglit to be turned 
without an effort; and Avith the result of the route, by 1 P. M. or sooner, 
that occiu'red three or four hours after. With the chances one to a hun- 
dred of failure, he changed front to the right, and gained the fire (as stated 
in McDowell's leport) hy not over one second of time. 

Without ordeis, the 46th Ohio broke to the i*ear; and, his horse being 
severely wounded, lie had barely time to ride round and head the flying 
troops when, exhausted by loss of blood, the horse came to his knees, 
throwing the Colonel his length forward amongst the frightened men ; 
and by this means the}'^ were rallied, and held the position two liours, till 
ordeied back, when the Union flank was completely turned about 2 p. M., 
April 6, 1862. (See Gen. Beauregard's letter.) 

It could have been shown that if Gen. Sherman did not order this dila- 
tory march and the desertion of the 46th Ohio by his aides and the brigade 
commander, that he approved it. 

7. That, knowing of course the isolated position and condition of tlie 
46th Ohio, by its first and subsequent firing, by report of his aides and 
some of the fugitives, he made no recognition of the same till over an hour 
after the first lire at noon, when he sent Major Hammond, A. A. G., to 
apprise the Colonel of the 46th that the enemy would soon turn his right 
flank, which, with several hundred idle troops and an idle battery, he made 
no eflort to prevent. 

8. That, knowing the approach of the Confederate flanking force, he 
left this battery over tliree (3) hours inactive, till captured by the enemy, 
with plenty of idle men to man it and nothing in the way of getting am- 
munition at the Landing, less than two miles off. 

9. That about 10 A. M. the 15th and 16th Iowa regiments came up to 
the aid of McClernand's right, near where he was lurking with a few hun- 
dred fugitives of his two center brigades. That he not only gave no assist- 
ance to these regiments, being himself sheltered by rising ground on 
their right, but deserted them without notice while they were in action, 
and afterwards reported that while "we were so hardly jpressed two Iowa 
regiments approached from the rear, but could not be brought up to the 
fire raging in !iis front." 

10. That when the 40th Illinois detached, as above stated, and reported 
to him. (about 400 men,) he ordered it to charge a hostile battery abour 
600 yards ott", and out of sight, in front, supported by five times their 
number, the consequence being that the regiment accomplished nothino-, 
but was driven back with the loss of 220 killed and wounded, or over half 
their number in half an hour, 

11. About 4:30 p, M., according to Gen. McClernand's report, just as h(! 
had repulsed the last attack of the enemy on our right flank, tlie riglit of 
ttie Union line (Sherman's tioops) gave way, without being attacked". 



1-3 

12. Instead of what he states in his report and a subsequent letter, that 
he advanced on tlie 7th of April so far towards the enemy about dajdight 
that he had to wait till near noon for Buell's troops to get abreast, Gen. 
L. Wallace reports having commenced liis advance on the Union right 
shortly after daybrealv, and, having been some time in action, that as Gen. 
Sherman's division, next on his left, had not made its appearance to sup- 
port his advance, a halt was ordered for it to come up. 

13th. That twice afterwards the troops on liis left gave waj^, his position 
at then' second repulse becoming critical, and that he was aided bj^ part of 
a Michigan regiment sent by General McClernand, and also by Colonel 
Willich of General McCook's Division of Buell's Army. (Where was 
Sherman then?) 

14. McClernand reports that on the 7th April the first Union troops seen 
on his right were those of General Wallace, 3d Division of Grant's army ; 
that soon after he observed Sherman's advance on his right, when an irreg- 
ular fire of the enemy caused the 53d Ohio (one of Sherman's regiments) to 
retire in disorder, breaking his line. 

15th. On the 8tli he, Slierman, was out with Hildebrands (his 3d Brigade) 
in pursuit of the enemy's cavalry, a large force of Union cavalry being part 
of his command, v/hich he took no care to keep in supporting distance of 
the infantiy. As Colonel Hildebrand reports, " after his skirmishers dis- 
covered the rebel cavahy, the 77th Oliio was ordered up to support them. 
Soon after forming a line of battle, a large body of cavalry made a dashing 
charge upon the regiment, which was forced back in disorder under cover 
of our cavalry. Unhappily the cavalry was not sufiiciently near to render 
assistance, and the regiment lost 51 men, 19 of whom were killed on the 
spot." This operation was akin to the attempt to bring a battery into action 
on the 6th, in face of the enemy, without infantry support — ^the infantry 
being neither thrown into a square, nor supported by idle cavalry at hand ; 
and the above, without further examples, would seem to be sufiicient to 
disestablish the reputation of any commander known to history. Instead 
of which Sherman, by this brilliant record of a subordinate's service at 
Shiloli, obtained his present reputation as a '"''great commander,'''' for 
which he was made Major-General of volunteers in May, 1862, and Briga- 
dier General in the United States army in 1863. 

He did, however, condescend so far as to say in his report that Colonel 
McDowell's subordinate. Colonel Worthington, displayed geat personal 
courage, and in consideration thereof recommended Colonel McDowell for 
promotion as Brigadier, who failed, however, of confirmation, on the re- 
monstrance of his subordinates tiiat he had deserted the First Brigade with 
General Siierman's aides, as above set forth, just before the first fire of the 
46th Ohio, April 6, 1862; but, as is now understood, by the General's 
order or approval. 

It will be seen, if the above statement is at all correct, that the 
Colonel of the 46th had to contend on this flank march and attack, not only 
with the Confederates present in line of battle on his right and front, but 
also with the operations of the Division Commander, being thus exposed 
(as General Scott not inaptly termed the censures of enemies in his ab- 
sence) to a fire in the rear from a General who kept in rear of McCler- 
nand's right flank. 

In conclusion, as to this flank march of a mile in three hours, within 
reach of the enemy, the Colonel of the 46th Ohio is free to admit that he 
himself, together with the Army of the Tennessee, on the principle of thanks 
to the bridge, however rotten, that bears you over, are under very peculiar 
obligations to the General of the Fifth Division, for this stupid attempt at 
the destruction of his First Brigade before getting it into action on McCler- 
nand's riglit, as he reports was intended when deserting it. Inasmuch as it 
led to very opposites results, especially beneficial to himself and the then 
party of the Union ; one result being the presidency of General Grant, and 
anotiier his own present position. 

This expression of obligation the Colonel may, perhaps, be permitted to 



14 

qualify by an exception to the fifteen or more j-ears of poverty and obloquy 
to which he has been subjected for shaking tlie tree of knowledge too freely 
over the red field of Shiloh, if not for a service whicli has obtained for his 
Division Commander near sixteen (16) j'ears of glory, reputation, and 
emolument — past all example in past time under such circumstances — 
which circumstances, it is to be hoped, for the moral chai-acter, military 
credit, and general welfare of tlie Republic, may never occur again. 

And now, to show the animus "of the prosecutor, as referred to by the 
Hon, A. F. Peny towards Col. W.," and how, perhaps, it in some sort 
originated, is here introduced the following extract from the "ilfemoirs," 
made famous, or infamous, by General Boj'nton, whose strictures are, as 
Saneho says, mere cheesecakes and custards to what they might have been, 
had the foregoing facts been known to that eminent journalist. 

Extract from Sherman''s Memoirs, vol. 1, page 225. 

On the 10th of March, I embarked my Division from Paducah. Among 
mj'-Colonels, I had a strange character — Thos. Wortiiington, Colonel 40th 
Ohio. He was a graduate of tlie Class of 1827, and tliereforc older than 
General Halleck, General Grant, or mj'self, and claimed to know of war 
more than all of us put together. In ascending the river, he did not keep his 
place in the column, but pushed on, and reached Savaiuiah one day before 
my Division. When I reached tiiat place, 1 found tliat Wortiiington had 
landed his regiment, and was fiying about, giving orders "as if he were 
Commander-in-Cliief. I made him get back to his boat, and gave him to 
understand that he must thereafter keep his place." (Which Col. W. con- 
siders was not under command of Sherman. — T. W.) "General Smith 
arrived about the 13th, with a large Jlect of boats," &c. 

All of which is as truthful as the balance of the Memoirs. 
The order for the embarkation of five regiments, which afterwards 
became part of Sherman's Division, was as follows : 

Head-Quakters, District of Cairo, 1 

Paducah, March 6, 1862, (not 10th.) ) 
Special Order No. 74. 

Tlie following regiments will embark to-day for Savannah, Tennessee 
river, and there report to Major-General Smitli, &c.: Oiiio 46th, Colonel 
Worthington ; Ohio 48th, Colonel Sullivan ; Illinois 40th, Colonel Hicks ; 
Ohio 53d, Colonel Appier; Ohio 72d, Colonel Buckland. 
By order of 

Brig. Gen. W. T. Sherman. 

That he might charge Col. W. with insubordination, a cohnnn of boats is 
introduced, contrary to a subsequent onli-r for eacii regiment to start as soon 
as ready. It so happened tliat tlie 46tli Oiiio was nearly out of stores, as 
were likely otiiers. At any rate, all stopped at Fort Henry, except the. 
4t>th, and half of the Illinois 40tli, wiiicii readied Savannali on the 8tli, or 
three days before tlie fleet with General C. F. Sniitli, and not General Slier- 
man, in the lead. The five companies of- the 40th Illinois were out of 
stores, and liad to return on the 10th. 

In the above extract of a dozen lines there are about as many false state- 
ments, expressed or implied, tlie cliief of which being, first, that liis divis- 
ion left Paducah on the 10th, instead of the Otli of March; second, that 
there was an order for a column of boats; tliird, that Sherman reached 
Savannah witli his division one day, instead of three, after the 46tli ; fourth, 
that Gen. Smith reached Savannah, about tlie 13th, after his division, in- 
stead of the 11th, before his division; liftii, that Col. W. had landed his 
regiment, none of which had been landed but the sick, who were in hospi- 
tals, but ordered back to a close and crowded boat with Sherman's char- 
acteristic hmnanity. A fuller statement of this matter, with a testimonial 
X)f the citizens to the good conduct of the 46th, will be found in ^' Shiluh 
or the Tennessee Campaign o/'1872," pages 76, 77. 



15 

The last special regimental order given the Colonel of the 4Gth and re- 
sults are equally characteristic of the ''animus" of the Commander-in- 
Ciiief towards him, as follows : 

Special Order No. 101. 
Head-Quarters Fifth Division, 

Army op the Tennessee, 

Lafayette, Tenn., June 25, 1862. 
The 52cl Indiana volunteers will move early in the morning- to the bridge 
three miles west of this place and form a" junction with the o6th Ohio 
volunteers, the senior officer taking command of both regiments. These 
regiments will guard the bridges and road to Germantown, and draw their 
supplies from Memphis. 

Colonel McDowell, commanding 2d Brigade, will detail the 46th Ohio 
volunteers to remain and, Avith one section of artillery detached by Major 
Taylor, protect the depot in Lafayette and the bridges and railroad. 
By order of Major-General W. T. Siierman. 

J. H. Hammond, Assistant Adjutant- General. 
P. S. — The railroad having been broken to-day, and an attack being 
imminent, great vigilance must be exercised. 

J. H. Hammond, Assistant Adjutant-General. 

An order for the 5th Division having been given during the day to fall 
back towards Corinth, leaving many Union citizens about Lafayette ex- 
posed to the enemy. Col. W. had sent to Gen. Sherman, about 9 P. M., a 
remonstrance against their exposure without any means of defense or pro- 
tection. Col. Walcut and Capt. Heath, Company A, by whom the missive 
was sent to Sherman, soon returned, stating that Col. W. would be arrested 
if he sent in any more such papers. The result was the above order, fol- 
lowed immediately by another, countermanding the same as to the 52d Illi- 
nois and 56th Ohio, without notice to Col. W., ordering them to Mem- 
phis, thirty miles off. 

Next morning, about 10 A. M., he became aware that the 46th, as at 
Shiloh, was deserted. Several of the pickets also having come in with 
warnings from planters that the post would be attacked within twenty-four 
hours, and Major Hammond having (unknown to Sherman) given warning 
by the postscript. Col. W. having taken care of his intrenching tools, had 
tiie post so fortified during the night as to be able, with 300 men fit for 
duty, to repel 2,000. 

Otherwise he would doubtless have been attacked and perhaps captured, 
as was a large Union detachment at Min-freesboro the 13th of July, 1862. 

The General of Division (as was understood) intimated insubordination 
on the part of the Colonel for this fortification without orders. 

He also refused him ten horsemen to keep a lookout for Col. Jackson 
and Major Porter, who, ten or twelve miles off, on Coldwater, had 800 
men, which on occasion could be doubled. 

For want of cavalry scouts to give warning of the danger, these Confed- 
erates on Coldwater did attack his pickets about the first of July, one of 
whom, J. M. Harper, a boy of eighteen, was killed. 

The "animus " so often above indicated was exemplified by twice brigad- 
ing Col. W. under volunteer officers without military knowledge or capa- 
city, though he had been for many years General of Ohio militia; had grad- 
uated high (sixth in engineering) at West Point thirty-five years before, 
and commanded the best-instructed regiment in the division, or perhaps 
in the army, as proven at Shiloh, where his military education availed the 
Government more than the expenses of West Point for centuries. Yet he 
was retained under the same command after the battle, and the Brigade 
Commander to whose position and responsibility he had been transferred 
at the most critical and dangerous period of the conflict on April 6, 1862, 
was recommended by Sherman and Grant for promotion, as hereinbefore 
stated, wiiile Col. W. was ignominiously and illegally dismissed the service 



16 

for the performance of the highest moral duty incumbent on a gentleman, 
a citizen, and a soldier. That duty, so far as his circumstances will per- 
mit, is perfected by this "Memoir," which will be found as correct as 
another regarding the same events has been found truthless. 

And the above exposition may be considered as in some sort the con- 
clusion of the defense lie was not permitted time to make at Mempliis in 
1862, thougii not all exhaustive of the subject. And if the Colonel of the 
46th Ohio, by a moderate and judicious use of stimulants, &c., had done no 
other service tlian obtaining through a court-martial the official and histo- 
rical information above recorded, the same should have been not only in 
mitigation of his having remained under the influence of liquor to the 
extent proven during the whole campaign of 1862, but should have been 
worthy to some extent of the promotion and emolument accorded to others 
for his meritorious conduct in this behalf, outside tlie battle of Sliiloh ; and 
for the service performed, by a metliod so unexampled in military history, 
he trusts he may at least be exculpated from groundless charges, through 
which he has been consigned to poverty and obloquy through nearly six- 
teen years of his old age. 

Kespectfully submitted, 

T. WORTHINGTON, 
Formerly Col. 4Gth Regt. Ohio Volunteer Infantry. 

Washington, D. C, Mardi 8, 1878. 



APPENDIX. 

Tennessee River, March 8th, 1862. 
Received of T. Worthington, Marcii Stli, 1862, at Britt's Landing, a 
correct account in duplicate of oats and bags obtained for use of the pub- 
lic service, the amount for oats being $47.62, and for bags $8.40, unless 
returned. W. O. Britt. 

Head-Quarters First Division of the \ 

Expedition up the Tennessee, March 12^A, 1862. / 
You are hereby ordered to move your sick aboard the /. JB. Adams, 
where they will remain until further orders. By order of Brigadier-Gren- 
eral W. T. Sherman, commanding First Division. 

D. W. Hartshorn, Division Surgeon. 
Col. T. Wortinqton, 4tQth Ohio Vols. 

United States Internal Revenue, ] 
Collector's Office, District, Ohio, [■ 

Columbus, Ohio, February 15, 1877. J 
Dear Colonel : In answer to your inquiry, it gives me pleasure to say 
that in the camp of instruction, called "Camp Lyon," at Worthington, 
Ohio, of tlie 46th Ohio, of which you were the Colonel, you taught the reg- 
iment a prompt movement in changing front, that was not found in any of 
the tactics. 

Also, that I am positive that the 46th, at the battle of Shiloh, was placed 
on the right under the direction of Major Sanger of General Sherman's 
staff. Chas. C. Walcutt, 

Lieut. Col. 46th O. V. I. at Shiloh. 

Col. Thos. Worthington. 

Washington, Ohio, March, 1877. 

I concur in the within statements. I can add, from my remembrance 
of Colonel Worthington's history, that he was, so far as I know, the first 
of the officers of the army to insist upon and practice the intrenchment of 
the front of the moving columns as a constant guard against surprise, and 
a means of added strength in operating in the wooded and difficult coun- 
try of the South. He also showed his zeal in publishing, at his own cost, 
^nd in advance of official editions, a useful manual of tactics, based on Scott 
and Hardee. (Signed,) J. D. Cox. 



PART IV. 



Brief of Worthingtoii' s claim for Government supplies, 1861. 

Afjjreement written at Cincinnati, in accordance witli a proposal to snp- 
pl3^ Camp Dennison, Oliio, with water, accepted by A. Q, M. Dicker?on, 
who was then pajino^ 40 cents per barrel of forty galloiis, and, except T. 
W.'s, had no acceptable and responsible proposal at a less rate. 

Cincinnati, May 16, 1861. 
I do hereby a^ree to furnish 12,000 to 18,000 troops at Camp Dennison, 
Oliio, with 1 J gallons of water per man per day, at 15 cents pei- 100 gal- 
lons, and to furnish any additional amount required at 40 cents per 100 
gallons. 

T. WOBTHINGTON. 

1st. The rate of 15 cents per 100 gallons was for the supply by a steam 
pump and pipes. The rate of 40 cents per 100 gallons being for supply by 
wheels, by which means all the supply, except, a fraction by wells anil 
springs, was furnished. 

2d. On the 3d June, Capt. Dickerson, A. Q. M., wrote to Gen. Bates, 
commanding the camp, that the Government, by conti-act, was to keep tiie 
receiving casks accessible, and if they were not so. Gen. W. would have a 
claim for damages; but thej' remained inaccessible. 

3d. In August, 1863, Camp Qr. Mr. D. W. McClung, by order of the Q. 
M. General, made a report of the case, and stated : (1) That the contract 
was more than filhid by Col. W. ; but not one stipulation, except i^ayment 
of the contract rate, was complied with by the Government. (2) That the 
obstacles thrown or left in the way of the contractor increased his expenses 
at least fifty per cent. (3) That he was not protected, as agreed by the 
Government, in the pei'formance of his contract. His pipes were torn up, 
pump destroyed, life threatened, and his water-carts excluded from the 
camp all night, when required to furnish part of the suppljr by daylight. 
And in February, 1869, the Third Auditor stated that in this way the Gov- 
ernment had substantially abrogated the contract. (4) McChmg reported 
that by the action of the Government in erecting a slaughter-house above 
the camp, the distance of hauling was made three times greater than that 
agreed on. 

4th. The Assistant engineer, L. S. Cotten, made affidavit to the increase 
of distance, and that the expenses of delivery were in proportion to the 
distance hauled, which is indorsed by Governor Cox. 

5th. Generals Bates and Cox, commandants of the camp, recommend 
a settlement, without reference to the contract, at what the service was 
worth. 

6th. Except for the first ten days' supply, paid for at fifteen cents per 
100 gallons. Col. W. has been paid forty cents, the estimated, but less than 
the actual cost of delivery. 

7th. On the second item, for increased hauling, nothing has been paid— 
about 614,500. 

8th. Nothing on the third item, for failure on part of the Government to 
comply with tlie conti-act, about $4,400. 

9th. Nothing for destruction of property, ttc. about $2,400. 

10th. On February 21, 1876, the Third Auditor reported nothing paid 
on tliese items, for want of jurisdiction by the accounting oflicers. 



18 

Oil a relieariim. by voquost of SecrctiiiT Bri^^tow, rlic same Amlitor r<'- 
]>orte(l Marcli 20^ 1876, tliat these items had been r-onsidei-ed, allowed, and 
paid in contradiction of all prcvions repiMts, and without any proof of pay- 
ment. 

11th. On a rehearing, by reqnest of President Hayes, the same olficer 
reported tiie same withont evidence March 20, 1877. 

Colonel Worthington considers that the assertion of payment is an ad- 
mission of the justice of these items, and of the jurisdiction of the ac- 
counting officers, and now requires the payment of these items, or evidence 
of their payment. 

r2rli. The present Deputy Auditor having suggested in a letter to Gen- 
eral Sehenck. March 2o. 1870, tliat the opinion of Governor Cox of Ohio, 
then Secretary of the Interior, shoidd be had. Governor Cox makes tlie 
statement as follows : 

House of Representatives, 
Washington, D. C, March 5. 1878. 

Having been commandant at Camp Dennison, Ohio, in May, 1801, when 
Colonel Worthingtou undertook to supply the camp with water, I. know 
enough of the circumstances to say that I believe the statement of Colonel 
McCiung, Post Qr. Mr., to be true. I have no doubt the embarrassment of 
Colonel Worthiugton, in the execution of his contract, was due to the inter- 
ference of officers of tiie Government, and especially the establishment of 
the slaughtei-house above the camp, made it necessary totallj'^ to change 
the character of his work. From all the facts which came to my knowl- 
edge while I was in the camp, through Ma\% June, and into Julj', 1861, 
1 bi'lieve Colonel Worthiugton to be entitled to damages for the losses he 
suHl'ied b}'' reason of inteiference bv officers and soldiers with his work, 
and by failure of the Govenmient to comply with the contract on its part. 
(Signed) J. D. Cox, lateMaj. Gen. U. S. Volunt.(;ers. 

13th. Eule of Second Comptroller's bureau applicable to T. AVoithing- 
ton's claim, according to the account of Camp Quartermaster Col. McClung 
and Major-General J. D. Cox, one of the commandants at Camp Dennison 
in 1861: 

" Contractors should be made good for all expenses and losses which are 
the direct and legitimate consequences of the interference of the Govern- 
ment in the performance of their contracts." 

14th. Extract from the Third Auditor's first decision in the case, March 
9, 1807: 

"It is apparent that the claimant is equitably entitled to remimeration 
for the increased quantity and distance hauled," &c. 

Under this decision an allowance Avas made for increased quantitj', but 
nothing for increased distance. 

T. AVORTHINGTON. 



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